At a glance.
- California Bar disciplinary data leaked online.
- Credit Suisse faces scrutiny over data leak.
State Bar of California disciplinary data leaked online.
The California State Bar Association has disclosed that it’s investigating a data breach that exposed confidential data related to 260,000 attorney discipline cases. As the Los Angeles Times explains, the records were discovered published online last week on website judyrecords.com, an aggregator of publicly available national court case records. Though the State Bar’s website does publicly post some case information, the data found on judyrecords.com included sensitive details that would not typically be released – case numbers, file dates, case type and status, and names of respondent and complaining witnesses. The California Business and Professions Code states that such disciplinary investigations are confidential until formal charges are filed. This data is stored in the State Bar’s Odyssey case management system, but officials are uncertain whether the breach was the result of a system hack. The data was removed from judyrecords.com on Saturday, with a site administrator explaining that the records were deleted in response to the State Bar’s disclosure of the breach. As the Orange County Register notes, the administrator alleges the records were publicly available on the State Bar’s discipline website, but State Bar officials dispute this claim. KPIX adds that the State bar has notified law enforcement, enlisted forensic experts to investigate, and has asked the vendor that provides the organization’s case management software to look into the breach as well. State Bar executive Leah Wilson stated, “We apologize to anyone who is affected by the website’s unlawful display of nonpublic data. We take our obligations to protect confidential data with the utmost seriousness, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that we resolve this issue quickly and prevent any such breaches from recurring.”
Credit Suisse faces scrutiny after incriminating data leak.
Credit Suisse continues to grapple with the recent data leak revealing that criminals, alleged human rights abusers, and sanctioned individuals are among the Zurich-based financial giant’s clients. As CNBC recounts, a whistleblower divulged the details earlier this month to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which then launched an investigation with an anti-corruption organization and nearly fifty global media outlets including The New York Times, the Guardian, and Le Monde. Owners of the 18,000 leaked accounts, totaling over $100 billion, include a Yemeni spy accused of torture, Venezuelan officials linked to a corruption scandal, and the sons of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Credit Suisse yesterday released a statement rejecting the accusations, stating, “The matters presented are predominantly historical, in some cases dating back as far as the 1940s, and the accounts of these matters are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct. The bank also noted that approximately 90% of the accounts mentioned had already been closed or were in the process of being closed before the investigation even began. Credit Suisse, known for its strict secrecy laws protecting clients, is no stranger to scandal, as in 2014 the financial giant pleaded guilty to helping US clients commit tax fraud, and just last year paid $475 million for its involvement in a bribery conspiracy in Mozambique.